The body of 21-year old swimmer, who went missing at 3:40 a.m. today near the Knob Hill lifeguard station in Redondo Beach, was recovered at 10:06 a.m. this morning.
The swimmer was identified by his grandmother, Louise, as Marlon Fajardo of Lawndale.
According to Division Chief Rob Rappaport of the Redondo Beach Fire Department, a 911 call came in at 3:45 a.m. about a missing swimmer off Knob Hill. Redondo Beach fire units, including a harbor patrol boat arrived on scene within four minutes, he said.
According to authorities, a group of two to four friends was with Fajardo when he went missing, at least one of whom was in the water at the time.
“He is reported to be a poor swimmer so he may have gotten a little farther out,” Rappaport said at an 8:45 a.m. press conference. “Once they realized he wasn’t around them, they started calling for help and called 911.”
Rappaport said the search was being conducted by a unified command structure: the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, the Los Angeles County Fire Department as well as the coastguard.
Chris Linkletter, section chief of the L.A. County Fire Department Lifeguard Division, also spoke at the press briefing.
“We have our rescue boats outside the surf line search, and our divers and our skin divers doing an in-shore search inside the surf line,” Linkletter said. “We are covering an area approximately a quarter mile.”
Linkletter said that, despite high surf advisories in nearby waters, the area where Fajardo went missing did not have strong surf conditions, just one to three feet with light current.
At 10:06 a.m., a diver from the Lifeguard Dive Team found Fajardo’s body in 18 feet of water, just 50 yards from where he had gone missing.
This morning at 8 a.m., eight family members and friends of Malon Fajardo sat at Avenue A and the Esplanade, inside police tape, huddled in beach towels and blankets. Fire engineer Dustin Conard kneeled next to them.
Before the news of Fajardo’s death, his grandmother spoke about Marlon. She said he was a smart and “handsome young man.” She stayed close to the water all morning. “I want to be right here, to be close to him,” she said. “I hope he swam around the world.”
